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As a society, we have a love-hate relationship with food. Two of the best-selling types of books are those dealing with cooking and dieting. Good nutrition is essential for optimal health. Poor eating habits are a major cause of many health problems.

Our relationship to food has changed dramatically from that of our earliest ancestors. Like other primates, our ancestors were herbivores, feeding on leaves, roots, seeds, and fruits. Because the foraging and grazing necessary for survival required them to travel long distances, food was clearly the most important part of their existence.

Later, as humans learned to cultivate land and raise and store crops, food became a trading commodity and was used in a social/religious context in celebrations and offerings. As the availability of food increased, eating habits changed too. Although eating meats became more possible with the discovery of primitive tools and firearms, it became more regular with the domestication of animals that happened during nomadic times, long before first settlements. However, grains, vegetables, and fruits dominated our diets long after settlements up to modern times when the influence of commercialism surpassed that of education.

Interestingly, like other herbivores (e.g., sheep, monkeys) our intestines are much longer than the intestines of mammals that feed on flesh (carnivores) and gorge themselves at feedings (e.g., dogs, wolves). Although carnivores have shorter intestines and feed mainly on protein and fat, they rarely develop arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, or stroke as humans do. This is due to their active lives as predators and their gorging, which is a way of fattening up to survive long fasts during lean periods (e.g., winters in the north or the dry summers of Africa). In other words, their eating habits are related to their climates, environments, and active lifestylesall of which change in captivity (e.g., a zoo), making them prone to cardiovascular disease in such settings.

Proteins and fats need a long time for digestion. Therefore, their digestion and absorption are enhanced in the long intestines of humans. Carnivores have a large meal (gorge) when they catch their prey and then rest for quite a while, sometimes for days. This is because after a large meal consisting of fat and protein, the body reduces blood flow for all other activities/systems, including muscles, and diverts it to the digestive tract. Humans, too, often feel exhausted and want to rest after a large meal. This is not observed after a small meal, especially one consisting of vegetables. Thus, resuming exercise two to three hours after meals will allow sufficient bld for digestion and eliminate the gastrointestinal problems such as cramps and nausea that may occur during exercise immediately after meals.

Large studies undertaken in Africa revealed that rural and nomadic people who foraged frequently did not exhibit the diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes that their fellow tribesmen experienced after moving to cities. Generally speaking, herbivores eat small amounts frequently and live longer, whereas carnivores eat huge amounts, although less frequently, but live shorter lives. In short, our biological heritage is more consistent with that of herbivores who forage for carbohydrates than that of carnivores who gorge on fats and protein. Humans can leave nature but nature will never leave them.

Eating habits and foods vary according to lifestyles. Putting aside ancient history, the eating habits of people only 50 years ago were quite different from ours. In the South, for example, people used to work in the cotton fields very early in the morning to escape the scorching sun. They usually had one large meal (usually deep fried and rich in fat) early in the afternoon. Fats are the richest source of calories (nine calories per gram) and provide the most satiety. Such eating practices are still observed in similar working conditions all around the world. Thus, the common practice of three meals a day is not necessarily a physiological requirement but rather an innovation of urbanization and industrialization.

The appearance of food, its presentation and color, and our sense of smell and taste all play an important role in inducing a feeling of hunger and increasing appetite. Like other primates, our ancestors used their sense of smell to locate food. Herbs and spices were later used to preserve food and increase its palatability. Now they are sometimes used for the sole purpose of increasing consumption.

Much of the food advertised on television is not healthy, and most food-marketing campaigns are aimed at children who spend a lot of time watching TV. In addition, much of our food is processed, containing unhealthy preservatives and artificial colors. Some of the factors contributing to our nutritional problems are the ready availability and aggressive marketing of unhealthy food.

The metabolism of glucose varies from person to person. Daily variations of blood glucose levels are said to be as unique for each person as fingerprints. This implies that people do not have to eat the same number of meals at the same times. Some people may need only two meals a day, whereas others may need multiple snacks during the day. When we wait until we are very hungry to eat, we often overeat (gorge) simple and processed sugars. This induces a larger than usual secretion of insulin, which in turn brings down the glucose level faster than usual, even to hypoglycemic levels, causing postprandial hypoglycemia (low blood glucose after eating). Hypoglycemia is not only linked to weakness or fainting but also mimics a variety of psychological and neurological problems. Authorities therefore recommend that we eat before blood sugar levels are so low that gorging becomes uncontrollable. They also recommend complex or natural carbohydrates instead of simple or processed sugars.

Our eating habits are strongly influenced by our mental status. When eating becomes an outlet for frustrations and a ritual to deal with depression, it can be as addictive as drinking or smoking. We tend to eat more when we are happy and when we are sad; some express their psychological problems by binge-eating, others with anorexia. Eating disorders once observed only among upper middle class young women are now becoming prevalent in men and other age groups. Eating accompanied by alcoholic beverages has become an important vehicle for socialization. Calories are lavishly gained on dates, at business dinners, at birthday parties, during "happy hours," and even at funerals.